Brown-bag lunches include more than just any peant butter and jelly sandwich:)

Anonymous and anonymous quotes are like a mystery to what your mom puts in your lunch bag. Even as to how you P+J sandwich is cut whether it is in to 4 squares, two triangles, with crust or with out crust. The mystery involves just as much thinking as a reader looking for the source, of fairness in the article with the anonymous source.

The text also states to not use the word 'source' unless it is absolutely necessary. Although unidentified sources and the use of sources are being judged it is having a corrosive effect on the credibility of newspapers. Though agree that it is hard to say that anonymous sources will ever completely disappear completely from American newspaper.

They have ignorant or incompetent reporters:

Organizations are covered by reporters who simply do not know enough about the subjects they are trying to report on which I agree with. I believe the text provided good insight to the hiring process with suggested skills. This chapter gave me emphasis to me of what to consider. How many people have actually thought about the factors referenced on page 24-26? Do you think it should be pressured more in universities in regards to double majors, how it will effect students after college with there declared major? How would you go about explaining your knowledge to an employer for you being a prospective job seeker in the journalism field?

Also these questions all came to mind with the field of study that I am considering, but I also noticed a range of guidelines that news stations, reporters used as a way of accuracy. I thought more on a personal note and how making personal guidelines could result in the benefit of us students, and preparing for the future. Making our own guidelines before we write and gather quotes, and ask questions could build a personal bond with our self and writing ability all together. Furthermore, help build accuracy as we write and narrow on documented information.

I think that we all need to consider fairness in materials, and information that we gather as professionals, and the audience that we target, and how it affects them in the public eye.

2 Comments

Greta Carroll said:

That is an interesting comparison you make of anonymous sources and the unknown substances on a sandwich. It makes me remember eating in my high school cafeteria and the lunch being “tuna surprise.” My friends and I would always joke about what the “surprise” was supposed to be. It’s the same idea—when we don’t know what it is we are dealing with we are likely to discount it (I can tell you, I never ate lunch on “tuna surprise” days).

As for double-majoring or minoring, I personally think it is an excellent idea to at least minor in something. I could be a bit biased on this issue (since I am double-majoring), but I constantly wish I could add a minor onto my two majors and education certifications. There is nothing that will make you stand out more to potential employers as having multiple specialties. However, sometimes it is impossible to do this, which is why I think Haiman stressed the importance of being a life-long learner. Just as teachers, doctors, lawyers, etc have to continually take credits to better themselves and keep themselves up-to-date, so too do journalists. Or at least, they need to if they wish to continue providing the highest quality news.

Journalism is one of those kinds of writing where you just can't fake knowledge. When you're writing fiction, it's a good idea to do research on the type of subjects that may come up in your writing but at the end of the day, it doesn't matter all that much if you just make things up. Newswriting is a type of writing where the emphasis is less on being creative and much more on being accurate. That's why it's important to learn a lot about numerous subjects, even if you don't formally get an additional minor or major. Hardly anyone can get through life knowing all about one subject and nothing else, but journalists so often have to meet their subjects where they live. You aren't going to have a very good interview with a Holocaust scholar if all you know about the Holocaust you learned from reading The Diary of Anne Frank in 8th grade. So being well-rounded is definitely key in this field.